However, Apple's HealthKit is not an actual product name, and is simply an API

Apple was long rumored to be developing a health-centric platform for iOS 8 that would allow iPhone users to closely monitor personal health and fitness data. Before the official announcement at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, CA, the name for the service was widely reported to be Healthbook.

But when the official announcement was made, we learned that the app itself is simply called Health, while the API is called HealthKit. According to Apple:

HealthKit allows apps that provide health and fitness services to share their data with the new Health app and with each other. A user’s health information is stored in a centralized and secure location and the user decides which data should be shared with your app.

Now it appears that at least one company would like to have a few words with Apple over the name HealthKit. HealthKit is actually the name of an Australian startup that specializes in “[Bringing] together practitioners, patients and people everywhere to make health efficient, effective and accessible all over the world.”

Patients are able to use the HealthKit software to streamline administrative tasks while patients can use it to track and manage your health online as well as share your medical records with practitioners.

A HealthKit exec took to the company’s blog to vent about Apple’s apparent lack of research to see if the HealthKit name had already been used. “Someone had emailed me to ask whether Apple stomped all over your name or did we do a secret deal with them,” said the exec in the blog posting.

The exec goes on to state:

HealthKit is already in use, by us! Even the way they write it is the same as us. I'm flattered that they like our name so much and that it's a ringing endorsement for our market opportunity (which we already knew). However, as an Apple fan, I feel let down. They didn't feel that they had to do a quick domain search - it would have taken 5 seconds to type www.healthkit.com into their browser and discover us.

It should be noted that Apple's HealthKit is simpy the name of the API and is not a front-facing product name that will be seen by consumers -- that's the actual Health app. So we don't know how much of a fight that HealthKit the company can put up against Apple.